At a Glance

On the Web

In the corner of Le Popil gallery in Phnom Penh, a large cloth hangs with the scrawled impressions of hundreds of visitors who have been affected by the images of Taizo Ichinose — Japan’s most famous war photographer.

The messages read everything from “love rules” to “you have captured what war really means.” One states “I’m one of the Cambodian people. I’m so proud to see your work Taizo.”

Ichinose’s photographs, in black and white and color, capture grim battle scenes and conflict from the days of the Khmer Rouge regime. They portray the everyday life of the thousands of Cambodian people who suffered through the brutalities of war. Beautiful in their simplicity, they convey the important elements of Cambodia’s recent history.

Ichinose was a brave, young, foolhardy photojournalist. He spoke openly of his willingness to risk his life for the perfect shot. From March 1972 to November 1973, he was in Cambodia and Vietnam, doggedly tailing the Khmer Rouge and their artillery fire. He often found himself caught in the cross-fire, narrowly dodging bullets and lethal landmines, his iconic Nikon camera scarred by a bullet hole suffered in Saigon in 1972.

The messages read everything from ‘love rules‘ to ‘you have captured what war really means.‘ One states ‘I’m one of the Cambodian people. I’m so proud to see your work Taizo.‘

Many obstacles prevented Ichinose from achieving his dream of being the first to photograph Angkor Wat during the Khmer Rouge regime. After his first visit to Cambodia, he was blacklisted and forced out of the country. He returned the following year as a boxing teacher and continued his quest to Angkor. But in November 1973 when he finally held Angkor in his sight, Ichinose was gunned down by Pol Pot’s troops. He was 26.

The exhibition at Le Popil is titled “One step on a mine, it’s all over…”, after a passage Ichinose once wrote in a letter, and was designed by French journalist Christine Cibert, who has maintained interest in Ichinose’s work for many years.

“I met Taizo’s niece and talked to her about showing his work for the first time since his death,” said Stephane Janin, owner of Le Popil. “We decided to create the show — shown at Angkor Photo Festival in December in Siem Reap. The show was such a success that we decided to extend it … to take the show back to Phnom Penh because that’s where the Japanese community is.”

“He was a real war photographer … he shared the hard times of the soldiers and the good times. He wrote once that if he had to die for a photograph, he would die.”

At a Glance

On the Web

In 1971, Donald Cooney and a group of Long Island adrenaline junkies began experiments to see if their hang gliders could do more than glide. The first crude model was little more than a glider with an 8-horsepower MAC 101cc chainsaw engine attached.

It worked — and Cooney has gone on to win countless medals for his innovative designs in ultralight aviation.

“The difference between flying a conventional aircraft and an ultralight is like the difference between driving in the countryside in a car or riding a motorbike,” Cooney said. “You’re out there in the elements. You’re part of the scene instead of just observing.”

Cooney’s six ultralight aircrafts imported to Cambodia from France, the USA and Australia are a little more advanced than his chainsaw-engine powered models of the 70s. These modern machines are snowmobile- and jet ski-engine designs with 65 horsepower that fly at 70 km/h.

Twenty-four kilometers from Phnom Penh, Lee Baer is harnessed into the control seat of what the locals call a “flying motorcycle.” He’s waiting as Cooney shoos cows from the short narrow strip of dirt road that doubles as a crude airstrip.

“We don’t worry about the kids on the runway anymore. They jump out of the way,” said Baer. “It’s cows and traffic we have to worry about.”

The take off is quicker than expected. And rising above the nearby pagoda, regular wind surges from below create a rollercoaster sensation. Baer, who also holds a commercial pilot’s license, explained that these bumps are caused by thermals, or updrafts of warm air rising from the overheated ground below.

“A general aviation craft is a precise thing. You direct it,” said Baer, “but with an ultra light you herd it around. Even small puffs of air affect it. It takes finesse to fly this.

At a Glance

On the Web

After a successful first exhibit at the FCC Angkor in February, Doris Boettcher brings a revamped selection of black-and-white photography to Phnom Penh for an exhibit titled “Cambodia Near and Far.”

Predominantly a collection of photography from Angkor Wat and other temples, “Cambodia Near and Far” also includes a few slice-of-life shots from around the country. The focus, Boettcher says, is on the details which you normally miss.

A resident of Phnom Penh since 2004, Boettcher says “travelling and taking photos means being open to the past and present, about culture, nature, and people in each country I visit. I have been taking photos with my Rolleiflex camera (first with black and white photos then in colour and now in black and white again) to keep them in my mind and documented for other people.”

“Cambodia Near and Far” opens April 6th at the FCC Phnom Phnom. The exhibit runs through May 3.

The project is already famous for its designer — British golf legend Nick Faldo — and enthusiasts from low handicappers to hacks have been waiting for years to hit these links.

“It’s really looking good. It’s about 85 percent finished: The grass is down on the fairways and greens and we’ll be open in the middle of May and we have a tournament scheduled in June,” said Angkor Golf Resort’s public relations chief Grant Brachmanis. “All that’s really left is finishing the clubhouse. We’ve already started caddy training and we’re playing six holes a day.”

The Faldo Design team began building the 18-hole, 72-par, 230-yard course in 2004. Faldo — who won six Majors, including three Masters and three British Opens, during his 29 years of professional golf — will be on hand for the official opening in September.

“I think we’ve created a great golf course, considering it’s basically a flat site. We’ve managed to get plenty of movement and a lot of interest and enhance the natural features that were here,” Faldo told local media in 2005.

“It’s brimful of strategy, variety and interest,” Faldo told Golf Digest. “It is located near the famous Angkor Wat world heritage site; it will be the first course in the area and will definitely put Siem Reap on the world golfing map.”

“Golfers in Asia have a real affinity for the game and their interest in the sport seems to be increasing year on year. Working on projects like The Angkor Golf Resort is a genuine pleasure.”

–Nick Faldo

Two of Faldo’s other Asian designs are the Faldo Stadium Course at Mission Hills in Shenzhen, China, and Ocean Dunes near Phan Thiet, Vietnam. Recently, Faldo’s Honghua International Golf Club in Beijing played host to the 2006 Volvo China Open and The Rock Golf Course in Ontario, Canada, was voted one of Golf Digest’s best new courses of 2004. Industry standard financing for a course of this caliber is at least $1 million per hole.

“We’re very proud of the Nick Faldo designed course and associated facilities, which we believe will be recognized as the best in Cambodia, and among the best in the region,” said Rick Bucknall, general manager, in a speech at Angkor Golf Resort’s 2006 British Open function.

Angkor Golf Resort will offer a clubhouse, a country club and a convention center. The project, guided by Indonesian developer Tony Tandijono, plans to tap into Siem Reap’s skyrocketing tourist market and Asia’s love affair with golf. Last year South Korean Ambassador Shin Hyun-suk — whose country provides the most visitors to Cambodia — was quoted as saying “Playing golf in Korea is very expensive — more than $200 a game. Many Koreans visit China, Japan, the Philippines and Thailand to play. They should have golf course for Koreans here.”

“The Korean market is very important to us. But if you look at Asia, golf is exploding everywhere. What we can offer is a more complete experience because of our facilities and the historical treasures of Angkor Wat,” said Brachmanis. “The market is here already; we’re providing something extra.”

Recently, The FCC in Siem Reap was been named the first partner hotel for Angkor Golf Resort. “We want to create a whole new experience, a ‘wow’ experience, and we feel the FCC can create that experience with us,” said Brachmanis. “It’s a good fit: we’re both similar in that we want to create a nice, relaxed, professional atmosphere.”

Nick Faldo in May 2005 during the construction of the Angkor Golf Resort, marveling at the “employee parking lot.”

Along the narrow footpaths of Lady Penh’s hill, sages and soothsayers still trade in the mysticism that gave rise to the capital some 600 years ago.

Legend has it that Phnom Penh was founded in the 14th century by a pious woman named Penh who discovered four statues of Buddha floating in the river. Reverentially, she fished them out and built a shrine on a local hilltop to house them. This of course became Wat Phnom.

Some six centuries later, the hill and its surrounding area are still known for magic, mystery and folklore and the site remains the religious and cultural center of the capital city.

On any given day, opposite the pagoda atop Wat Phnom and behind the popular crafts bazaar, is a sprawling tract of makeshift storefronts and shadowy entrance ways. Through the dark of the doorways comes candlelight, incense smoke and, some say, sage advice.

These are the famous fortune-tellers of Phnom Penh.

Going local

Although language skills are limited to sparse English and French, a visit to these soothsayers is always a fun and fortuitous experience. It’s a unique atmosphere for visitors seeking a Cambodia off the beaten path. Whether or not the counsel is sound, is strictly a matter for the participant. But a trip to these famed fortune-tellers does provide a rare glimpse into the extremely superstitious society that exists in Cambodia.

For an afternoon adventure, the soothsayers offer a fanciful dose of local color to any Wat Phnom escapade — and the predications are always guaranteed to be fortuitous.

In one soothsaying stall, a furrowed old woman with withered hands asks a client to first cut a single deck of cards nine times. Then she spreads the deck across the table and requests a selection with each hand. From the two cards, the woman discerns a recent departure of a significant other. She then begins to play a game that resembles solitaire before slowly turning over three kings and a queen. From this she declares that the client has met his future spouse already, and notes that in April all will be revealed.

A few stalls later, a grandfatherly fortune teller shakes 50 sticks of incense over the patron’s head and then asks him to pull a single lighted stick from the bunch. The choice, the old man says, signals coming success at work.

After only a few seconds of inspection, a female palm reader further along in the mall of fortune-telling shacks explains to her client that she sees deep sadness that comes out everyday. But more mysteriously, this palm reader too predicts a major romantic event in April.

For an afternoon adventure, the soothsayers offer a fanciful dose of local color to any Wat Phnom escapade — and the predications are always guaranteed to be fortuitous. Because as everyone knows, especially the soothsayers, doling out unlucky predictions invariably means bad luck for business.

On the Web

Formerly a first-class commercial and architectural photographer, the more exuberant side of Christopher Bland will be on display beginning April 8 at the FCC Angkor. Bland’s exhibition “River, Street in Buddha’s Land” is an exploration of Cambodia’s and Southeast Asia’s ancient past and vibrant present.

Bland says his past experiences have led him to “recent adventures” and several long-term photo projects devoted to Southeast Asia. Bland’s asks only that the viewer “react” to his work, and his recent selection to display in The Four Season in Bangkok suggests that many fans are doing so favorably. Further, he gives a portion of all his income from photography to a Cambodian children’s hospital.

Bland’s photographs are at once familiar and unforgettable. In his show at the FCC Phnom Penh are images of monks and mosques and ancient, moldering temples. Bland explores everyday life in Cambodia, as well as its more bizarre aspects. His art is wide-ranging, and his eye captures a country from all sides.

In one image a parade of Thai schoolgirl beauty queens marches down a street adorned in party dresses and clutching gilded trophies. In another, a demure young mother covers her face against the sun while riding in a crowded remorque.

Bland’s detail photography is expansive as well. One picture is a close-up of a jeweled depiction of Buddha’s feet, another is a depiction of burning incense sticks.

As the exhibit’s title suggests, Buddhism is a frequent topic. Bland takes the viewer on an intimate tour of the nation’s religion — with sensitivity and soulfulness. In some pictures, colorful saffron robes contrast with the stone of ancient temples, but there is a harmonious logic to the scenes.

Children enjoy special treatment from Bland, who’s knack of capturing a prefect smile seems uncanny. The show has warmth; and more than once provides a glimpse at a young child and an elder in close embrace.

“River, Street, Buddha’s Land” will remain on display through April 2007.

At a Glance

Rodin and the Khmer dancers: his last passion Sketches and photographs by Auguste Rodin, on display through February 11 at the National Museum.

Sure, it’s featured in every guidebook, and makes every traveler’s must-see list, but the National Museum of Cambodia may still be underrated.

Opened to the public in 1918, the towering crimson museum houses antiquities and artifacts from the Kingdom’s ancient past. From the first step inside, the museum is an explosion of history, mystery and beauty. It’s a dizzying array of divinities and demi-gods, of nagas and lingas and astonishing statues.

But you don’t have to be an anthropologist, expert or historian to enjoy the National Museum. It’s accessible for any tourist or even the most novice student of Cambodia. It also goes a long way in explaining the artworks behind the Kingdom’s most famous temple complex, Angkor Wat.

These days there’s even a more modern element. From now until February 11 the museum is presenting the exhibition “Rodin and the Khmer dancers: his last passion.”

Auguste Rodin

Courtesy Rodin Museum

French sculptor Auguste Rodin was inspired by the apsara dancers who traveled to France with King Sisowath in 1906. The story goes that after seeing the dancers perform, Rodin was overwhelmed by the purity and grace of their gestures. He followed the entourage to Marseilles where they were waiting for a ship back to Cambodia.

In Marseilles, Rodin worked madly. He sketched some 150 drawings — interpreting the poses of ballet and focusing on arms and hands — in a matter of days. He later water-colored the drawings with subtle, pastel tones. Forty of his original drawings and 30 photographs from the Rodin Museum in Paris are displayed in newly renovated, climate-controlled rooms.

The Rodin exhibit is included in the museum’s $2 entry fee and makes a pleasant complement to the centuries-old relics and religious figurines throughout the museum.

French inspiration

Opened to the public in 1918, the building was designed in traditional Khmer style by French archaeologist and scholar George Goslier. The single-level museum makes for an easy stroll. It’s a circular route of four linked, open-air galleries that surround a lush garden courtyard complete with benches and fish ponds.

“In Marseilles, Rodin worked madly. He sketched some 150 drawings — interpreting the poses of ballet and focusing on arms and hands — in a matter of days.”

It hasn’t had such an idyllic past. In 1975, the museum was looted by the Khmer Rouge as they emptied the capital, and the museum’s director was murdered. By the regime’s end in 1979, the roof had collapsed and the courtyard and galleries were overgrown with weeds and vegetation. In later years, the museum became slightly infamous for the enormous colony of bats that inhabited the roof. A new roof was installed in 1995, but according to museum officials, it hasn’t completely solved the problem.

The museum’s range of items is stunning. Immediately, the enormous sandstone statues of Hindu and Buddhist figures demand attention. On closer inspection, however, it’s the menageries of smaller items that can fascinate for hours.

Entire glass cases are devoted to rings, bracelets and pipes. There’s an amazing selection of ancient weapons ranging from bamboo spears to cast bronze canons. In the museum’s eclectic North Gallery is the entire cabin of a 19th-century royal boat. The wooden boat gleams with polished hard wood and boasts intricately engraved dragons, flowers and animals.

Delightful and mysterious, the National Museum is more than a “must see.” It’s an astounding visual experience and a key to the Kingdom’s ancient days.

At a Glance

The Kingdom of Cambodia welcomed over a million and a half tourists in 2006. And the Ministry of Tourism expects that the number of visitors will increase by 20% in 2007.

The main attraction?

Cambodia’s ancient heritage, specifically the Angkor Archaeological Complex in Siem Reap province. But the enigmatic temples that attract thousands of visitors every day are also continually threatened by looting.

Archaeologist Dougald O’Reilly, founder of the non-governmental organization Heritage Watch, has been working to protect Cambodia’s heritage by raising awareness of looting and its consequences. Since the organizations establishment in 2003, Heritage Watch has pursued its goal through a growing number of unique ideas and projects.

Their newest concept? Heritage friendly tourism.

Certified friendly

With full support from the Ministry of Tourism and the Apsara Authority, Heritage Watch has declared the year 2007 ‘Heritage Friendly.’ The aim is to bring together locally based private, public and non-governmental sectors in a nationwide collaboration to promote responsible tourism, while encouraging businesses to promote the arts, culture, heritage and development projects in Cambodia. Each sector both fulfills and benefits from the campaign.

The campaign can be seen as an interdependent relationship between Heritage Watch, local businesses and tourists.

“Heritage Watch encourages tourists to prolong their visits to the Kingdom with exploration of less-traditional tourism pathways.”

Heritage Watch certifies businesses as heritage friendly if they meet certain criteria. Heritage Watch then distributes guidelines on how to be a heritage friendly tourist to travel agencies, which then communicate these messages to their clients. The travel agencies also promote heritage friendly businesses as well as NGOs in the fields of arts, culture, preservation and archaeology.

Through this networking, Heritage Watch encourages tourists to prolong their visits to the Kingdom with exploration of less-traditional tourism pathways such as village tours, arts festivals and expositions, architecture tours, gala dinners, golf tournaments, seminars and expert-speaker tours.

Traveling full circle

As a tourist, being heritage friendly is as simple as being a good citizen. Tourists are encouraged to be respectful of the religious origins of the temples, to not touch the carvings or purchase ancient artifacts. Environmental friendliness is also encouraged: keep heritage sites clean, conserve water (the survival of the temple structures is dependent on a certain level of water in the ground), and use clean-energy transport near the temples when possible.

The final guideline is the link between tourists and businesses: patronize heritage friendly businesses.

The FCC applied for and received heritage-friendly status from Heritage Watch in January 2007.

The FCC contributes to Cambodian arts and culture through programming art exhibits, theatre and music performances, and media and communication-themed presentations.

The buildings of the FCC Phnom Penh, FCC Angkor, and Pacharan, a sister company, have all been sensitively restored according to their classical or modern designs remaining from the early to mid 20th century. By preserving the tangible architectural sites the FCC has also contributed to reviving the intangible heritage of cultural liveliness and elegance that defined 1960s Cambodia, when Phnom Penh was known as the “Pearl of Asia.”

To compliment and enrich the Heritage Friendly Tourism campaign, the web site www.heritagewatch.org and a free quarterly magazine, TouchStone, will promote the campaign’s aims while making accessible information and news on heritage research and development in Cambodia. Finally, by establishing the Heritage Watch Trust, the campaign will also support small NGOs and non-profit organizations in need.

German photographer and travel enthusiast Doris Boettcher follows the Mekong River from Laos down to Vietnam, capturing the exotic scenes of Southeast Asia and reveling in the subtle details that make the region so alluring.

at a glance

“Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam — different Impressions in Black and White Photos,” by Doris Boettcher, on display at the FCC Angor through February.

Opening night reception with the photographer February 1, 6:30 p.m.

In her exhibit at the FCC Angkor “Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam — Different Impressions in Black and White Photos,” Doris Boettcher follows the Mekong River from Laos down to Vietnam, clicking away at the exotic scenes that define Asia and capturing the details of a diverse and historic region.

Boettcher worked for years as a travel guide in the region before settling down in Cambodia, and her knowledge of Southeast Asia comes through in her photography. She displays a knack for capturing those serendipitous moments that so often compel our travels.

Standing on the bank of the Nam Song River in Laos, the photograph Boettcher takes provides a study in contrasts. A row of long-tail boats shine in the sun against a backdrop of dark, shallow waters. The smooth, flowing textures of the river drift by jagged and immovable karst mountains. Fisherman at work down in the river stand juxtaposed with a photographer at play up on the river bank.

With her photos of Vietnam, Boettcher shows off her affinity for spotting rich textures and subtle details. In one photograph, Boettcher again finds herself at the water’s edge. In a deceptively simple composition, a lone fishing net pregnant with potential energy hangs just above choppy waters. In the sky, an afternoon sun shines through receding rain clouds. The scene is an eye blink in time but could easily describe the country, if not the region, as a whole.

When she turns her lens toward Cambodia, Boettcher focuses more on people than she does elsewhere, which is probably the result of a deeper understanding of local life that has come with calling Cambodia home. It is the people more than anything, she says, that makes Cambodia great.

In one shot, a young girl walks briskly with a soda bottle tucked under her arm. It could be filled with petrol or tea. Whatever it is, her purposeful stride and sharp look give the impression that the mission she is on is an important one.

Other photographs catch a trio of monks strolling across the causeway at the Baphuon, a group of kids laying about on the now nearly famous “bamboo railway”, a family at work on a dilapidated houseboat.

The photographs catch just a brief moment in time, but like all great photography Boettcher’s images allude to a reality much greater than that in the picture alone.

In all, Boettcher’s narrative of the region frames the big pictures that captivate — the gorgeous riverscapes, iconic pictures of Cambodian monks at the temples, the fisherman’s life in Vietnam — yet at the same time does so while reveling in the smaller yet not insignificant details, the subtle contrasts and complex textures that make the Asian way of life so alluring.